For 65 years residents of a remote Scottish village have paid heed to the wartime warning that “loose lips sink ships”.

The surrender of German submarines in Loch Eriboll in Sutherland was one of the strangest episodes at the end of World War II. Locals were sworn to secrecy and it has often been assumed that only “two or three” crews gave themselves up in the sheltered inlet.

But a new book marking the 65th anniversary of the incident reveals that no fewer than 33 U-boat commanders surrendered in the space of 12 days in the 10-mile long loch.

The Highland fjord in the far north-west of Scotland, close to Cape Wrath, was the only Scottish rendezvous point for U-boats. In the space of two weeks, from May 10 to May 25, 1945, it turned into the biggest single gathering of the German submarine fleet anywhere in the world. The U-boats — nicknamed grey wolves — were part of Hitler’s plan to starve Britain of food, raw materials and equipment.

David Hird, 65, a former local government officer, has spent two years researching The Grey Wolves of Eriboll.

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The two 9 meter brigs, the Bob Allen and the Caroline Allen, are designed to introduce sailors as young as ten to the fun and challenges of sailing a square rigged “tall ship.”   The small tall-ships cost less to build, operate and crew than larger vessels. They are also incredibly cute.   The brigs were designed by British naval architect Colin Mudie.   Thanks to Tom Russell of the Tall Ship & Traditional Sail Professionals Linked-In group for pointing it out.

Cowes naming ceremony for world’s smallest tall ship

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Now the l’Hydroptère team is working to develop an ocean going version of the hydrofoil tri with the goal of sailing around the world in 40 days.  The plan is to build two boats, l’Hydroptère.ch, a scaled down version of a new design to be used for testing and development, followed by the full sized, l’Hydroptère maxi.

Curtain raised on the new l’Hydroptère.ch

l’Hydroptere Sailing Record

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Fisherman’s Friends Net Catchy Album Deal

Fisherman’s Friends sing South Australia

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More than 20% of passengers on Celebrity cruise ship are sick

Three cruises in a row have been hit by serious outbreaks of the virus on the same ship.  On the Feb. 15-26 sailing, 411 passengers fell ill or more than 22% of the 1,830 passengers aboard. On the Feb. 26-March 8 voyage more than 10% were stricken. On the most recent trip 369 or slightly over 20% of the passengers have reported symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.   To put this in perspective, according to the Center for Disease Control, only two cruise ships calling on the US experienced an outbreak of illness that affected more than 10% of passengers last year, and no ship experienced an outbreak that came close to 20% of passengers.  cruise lines are required to report any outbreak in which more than 3% of the passengers report symptoms of the virus.

Celebrity says that they believe passengers are bringing the illness onto the ship. News outlets in South Carolina have been reporting the state is experiencing a higher than normal number of norovirus cases this winter.

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The death of Eustace at the Battle of Sandwich

The Oxford Dictionary of National Bi0graphies features an intriguing character from history today - Eustace the Monk,  a Benedictine monk from the 13th century who was also a sea captain, a mercenary and a pirate. Quite a resume.  A romance biography written about Eustace around 1225 by an unknown poet from Picardy, is said to have influenced the medieval myths of Robin Hood.

Eustace was born a younger son of Baudoin Busket, a lord of the county of Boulogne. According to his biography, he went to Toledo, Spain, studied black magic there, returned home to become a Benedictine monk at St Samer Abbey near Calais, and then left the monastery to avenge his murdered father. Other evidence, however, suggests that his father’s death occurred soon after 1190. That evidence proves that by 1202 Eustace was the seneschal and bailiff of the count of Boulogne, Renaud de Dammartin and that in c. 1204, the two quarrelled and, accused of mishandling his stewardship, Eustace fled and was declared an outlaw. Renaud confiscated his lands and fields; Eustace burned two mills in retaliation.

He then became a pirate in the English Channel and the Strait of Dover, both for his own purposes and as a mercenary of France and England. John of England employed him intermittently from 1205 to 1212, against Philip II of France. The biography asserts that John gave him command of thirty ships at the start of this assignment. This employment involved Eustace and his brothers raiding the Normandy coast and establishing bases in the Channel Islands (he and his men held Castle Cornet in Guernsey for a considerable period). When he raided English coastal villages, King John briefly outlawed him, but soon afterwards issued a pardon because he needed his services.

However, Eustace switched sides in 1212 (the biography puts it down to Eustace’s enemy Renaud de Dammartin allying himself with John and poisoning John’s mind against Eustace) and raided Folkestone when English troops seized his Channel Island bases. When civil war broke out in England in 1215, he supported the rebel barons and ferried Prince Louis of France across the Channel to help them in 1216.

In August 1217, whilst ferrying much-needed reinforcements to Louis, Eustace met an English fleet under Hubert de Burgh sailing out of Dover. In the ensuing Battle of Dover, Eustace wrought havoc among his former allies, until the English blinded the French with powdered lime. English troops boarded his ships and defeated his men in mêlée. Eustace, his flagship and some other ships managed to escape, but his ship was surrounded on 24 August 1217 in the Battle of Sandwich by Philip d’Aubigny’s English fleet of Cinque Ports ships. Eustace was found hiding in the ship’s bilges and offered huge sums for his life, which his captors refused, since he had made himself so hated by the English crews. Instead, they allowed him merely the choice between the ship’s rail or the side of the trebuchet (carried as deck-cargo to England) as his execution site. (Matthew Paris includes the beheading but does not specify which he chose). His brothers survived, and continued to hold his Channel Islands base.

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ANKIDA Sailing

Lila-Lou presents sailing yacht Ankida

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Storm-sunken “treasure ship” found in Ukraine

Remains of the British frigate “Prince”, which was sunk by a heavy storm in 1854 during the Crimean War, have been discovered in the Black Sea. The vessel is rumored to have a cargo solid gold.

HMS “Prince” was a storeship hired by the Royal Navy among some 200 private vessels to be used for delivering supplies. On November 8, 1854, it anchored in the sea off the town of Balaklava in Crimea.

Five days later, a mighty storm hit the area, sinking four ships of the allied British-French fleet, including the Prince, and killing more than 500 men. But by the end of the war a rumor spread that, in addition to sleeping bags and woolen socks, the vessel had something much more interesting – barrels of gold intended as payment for the troops.

The treasure legend lured hunters of different nationalities to try to discover the sunken freighter and its allegedly-valuable cargo. As the maritime gold rush unfolded, reports of the prize waiting for brave adventurers also grew in size, reaching 6 million pounds sterling in some reports.

Numerous failures to find the treasure among the wreckages dotting the seabed of Balaklava Bay did not discourage would-be bounty hunters, and only the start of World War II put the search on hold.

Now Ukrainian media report that a diving expedition has found the Prince, a century-and-a-half after its sinking. They have lifted a plate from the seabed with the logo of the owner of the Prince on it. Since the company had only two ships near Balaklava during the 1854 storm, and the other one survived it, researchers say their find must be from the legendary vessel. The divers have also discovered cannon balls and medical supplies.

The expedition however is not expecting to discover any gold now, as most historians now believe that the Prince had none on board. The treasure rumor was apparently instigated by the similarity of the Prince’s name with another British vessel, the steamer “Black Prince”, which was indeed used to transport payment for troops. The sunken freighter had been referred to as Black Prince by many authors in both historical books and numerous works of fiction.

Above all, if there had been gold on the Prince when it left Britain, it would have been unloaded in Istanbul, where the British Chief Quartermaster’s headquarters were located.

Thanks to Alaric Brown for passing the article along.

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A Coast Guard Legend passed away yesterday. Lieutenant Herbert M. Collins, USCG (RET), the last survivor of the legendary Pea Island Life Saving Station, passed away due to complications from cancer. Here is the message that Admiral Allen sent out to notify the field.

Subj: Death of a distinguished CG Veteran

It is with deep regret that I announce the passing of Lieutenant Herbert M. Collins, USCG (REt.), a legendary Coast Guardsman and the last surviving crewmember of the all-African American Pea Island Life Saving Station. Lieutenant Collins succumbed to cancer on Sunday evening, March 14th, surrounded by family and friends.

Lieutenant Collins service to the Coast Guard and our nation alone is significant, especially in light of the challenges that African Americans faced as the service was integrated. Yet his legacy runs even deeper in our collectie heritage as he was alos the grand nephew of Dorman Pugh, one of seven Gold Life Saving Medal recipients form the Pea Island Rescue of the crew of the stricken schooner E.S. Newman in 1896. When Lieutenant Collins retired in 1976, he and his family set the bar for the longest continuous family service inthe Coast Guard, a record that began with his grandfather, Joseph H. Berry, in 1880.

Born in 1921 in Manteo, North Carolina, Lieutenant Collins enlisted in the Coast Guard and attended boot camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. First assigned to the Cutter Tallapoosa in Savannah, Collins served as a Mess Attendant. He then served at stations from Florida to Virginia, including aboard cutter Mendota in Norfolk, Virginia, alongside renowned author and Coast Guardsman, Alex Haley. Lieutenant Collins then transferred to the all-African American Life Saving Station at Pea Island where he served as a Surfman for the duration of World War Ii. He and his fellow Surfmen carried out vial search and resuce responsibilities and responded to a distressed shio that had been hit by a torpedo between Pea Island and Chicamacomico Coast Guard Sations. In 1947 Lieutenant Collins ended an historic era in Coast Guard history as he handed over the keys when the Pea Island Station was decomissioned. He later received his commission and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant before retiring in 1976.

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I will admit to being easily amused, but I found this to be very funny.  For those with more money than sense, here is a “couture superyacht” designed by a fashion designer.   I would worry that it might be more fashionable than seaworthy but it does look rather conventional overall.  (As a naval architect, I  promise that I will never, ever design clothes.)

Couture superyacht brings high fashion to the high seas

The world’s most fashionable women may finally have the perfect place to show off their designer dresses: A haute couture superyacht.

Couturier Elie Saab, whose clientele includes actresses Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, recently unveiled his design for a 117-meter superyacht.

Designing red carpet dresses and high-tech superyachts might not seem the most natural bedfellows, but the Lebanese designer believes this latest venture is a natural extension of his fashion empire.

“I always sought to represent my vision of modernity and elegance beyond the conventional limits of fashion,” Saab told CNN.

“Both haute couture and superyachts are distinctive examples of luxury. The project of a yacht is already a luxury.

“Adding a designer’s vision to the creation is the ultimate luxury,” he said of the design which was launched at last month’s Abu Dhabi yacht show.

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